


Springtime

by Insomniac



Category: Blink-182
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, it's basically cotton candy, like pretty much only fluff, v early in both bands' careers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 09:23:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14493885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Insomniac/pseuds/Insomniac
Summary: Mark surprises Matt at one of his shows, and also complains about how cold it is outside.





	Springtime

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nbmothman](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nbmothman/gifts).



> Disclaimer: This story isn't real. But you knew that, didn't you? If you happen to be or know any of the above-mentioned people, go ahead and close this tab. We'll just pretend this never happened.
> 
> A birthday present to the best human in the world who I love more than anything, [nbmothman](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nbmothman).

Three days. _Just three days_. Mark shook his head at how spur-of-the-moment his plan was. He'd taken a last-minute afternoon flight from Austin to Chicago on a whim, a few days off, and his few bucks of extra cash. But whatever, it was worth it. The flight was only a couple of hours.

He knew Matt and the guys would be getting into town about the same time he did. As much as he wanted to meet up with his boyfriend as soon as possible, he wanted to surprise Matt even more.

They'd run in the same circles for quite a few years, and Mark always really admired trio's dark poetry and instrumental sound. Sure, making dick jokes all the time was definitely a fun job to have, Mark had no complaints, but the kind of lyrics and imagery _that_ band could portray? It was fucking beautiful. It always amazed him how different Matt's band was from his, even when they were so similar in setup.

When he met them, he thought they were all the coolest guys, but Matt, _Matt_. Fuck. They just clicked. Even their first conversations felt familiar and easy. As their friendship developed, they tended to head straight for each other any time they were in the same space, spending nights staying up late together and sneaking off to hang out alone. Eventually, on one of those late nights, Mark got the balls to lean over and kiss Matt, and that was that. They'd been together ever since, despite not being able to see each other as much as they would have liked.

Mark killed some time around the city for a while until it was time to head to the show.

He went through all the proper channels, he bought a ticket, waited in line to get in among a lot of dedicated Alkaline Trio fans (which made him more proud than he expected), and even bought a shirt from Heather before the opening bands went on. She smirked and shook her head at him when he told her his plan.

"You guys are too cute for the aesthetic of this show." She tossed the shirt at Mark, who narrowly managed to catch it before it flew over his shoulder. "Goth up, Hoppus. Better blend in before the guys see you and your sunny SoCal vibes."

He thanked her with a hug over the merch table, then set off into a sea of people who reminded him of himself in high school-- lots of black clothes, black makeup, elaborate hair. After putting the shirt on over the one he had, he navigated his way closer to the stage. It was a small venue, probably typically chill, but that night it was packed.

The opening bands were good. They had decent energy and the humble realness that he pretty much only saw in small local bands. As the second band finished up, butterflies started swirling in Mark's stomach. He was so excited to surprise Matt and be able to spend time with him again.

When trio came out, Mark was flooded with pride at how stoked everyone in the crowd was. That was the other thing that always amazed Mark about their band— the fans. Blink’s fans were generally pretty casual, but trio’s fans were always pretty intense about how much they loved the band. Especially that night though, where most of the audience had probably been some of the first people to support the band.

The guys looked elated, unable to keep the huge smiles from their faces. Matt and Dan bantered a little and gave an intro, then ripped into the first song in the set.

Mark slowly made his way to the front during the first few songs. He knew tons of their friends were there — he had run into plenty of them — so the whole crowd probably looked pretty familiar to Matt. He didn't expect Matt to see him right away, if at all. He knew how hard it could be to make out faces in a dark crowd when the lights were on you.

Matt sang and played beautifully as always, grinning and having fun. When he got a break from main vocals, he nodded smiles to people every so often, a silent greeting to those he recognized. Dan crooned away while Matt made faces at his friends between turning back to the mic to harmonize.

Matt’s eyes finally wandered toward where Mark was standing. He did a double take and his brow lowered in confusion, like he wasn’t sure if he was truly seeing him.

It was all worth that exact second. Mark couldn’t help the smile growing on his face, and that must have been when Matt realized it was _actually_ him. Matt’s face lit up, his mouth mirroring Mark’s wide grin. When Mark gave him an exaggerated, cheesy wink, he threw his head back and laughed. He became more animated and energetic every time he glanced at Mark throughout the show.

Mark continued to sing along with the lyrics the entire set. He loved watching Matt play. Plus the crowd’s energy was contagious, like a bunch of proud parents supporting their kids while they pursued their dreams.

When the show ended, Mark met him behind the venue as the crew loaded gear into the van. As soon as Matt saw him, he ran to Mark, barely bothering with a “Hey!" before hugging him with such force that they almost fell to the ground.

“Fuck, what the fuck? I thought you were in Texas?" Matt mumbled against his hair as he kissed the side of Mark's head.

"Three days off," Mark laughed with some difficulty. Matt held him so tight that he could barely breathe. "Couldn't wait to see you.” He buried his face in Matt’s neck, reveling in the embrace as he registered just how good it felt to be with him again.

Matt pulled back to place his hands on Mark's face and kiss him hard, with intensity and drive, like he had to make it count because it had been so rare. It felt like it could have been their first kiss, sending sparks throughout Mark’s body and filling him with warmth that countered the cold night.

Matt's mouth parted from Mark's with a smile. His eyes sparkled, and Mark was struck with just how beautiful he was. The pictures he kept of him didn’t even do him justice. Every time he saw him, he was more handsome than Mark remembered.

"I can't believe you're here,” Matt looked down at Mark’s shirt. "I can't believe you're wearing merch," he laughed.

"Gotta show my support, what kind of groupie would I be if I didn’t wear your merch to your show?" Mark smirked and caught his lips again with a quick peck before releasing his grip. "Great fucking show, babe."

Matt sighed happily, bumping Mark’s shoulder with his own as they walked to Matt’s car. "Hometown shows have such good spirit. Touring different cities is cool, but these are the best."

Mark agreed. No matter how good you were, no matter how hyped the crowd is in another city, hometown shows were like nothing else. It felt like the whole city had your back.

They drove to Matt's apartment, telling funny tour stories that they hadn't gotten to talk about on the phone, swapping tales of equipment failures and stage injuries. Once they got back to his place, they opted to shower together, not wanting to waste any time by being apart.

Mark leaned against Matt, situated chest to chest in the small shower as they both stood under the water. They’d already finished washing up, but couldn’t get themselves to leave the warmth of the shower just yet. Both men were sore from long nights and months worth of shows. The water was nearly as hot as either of them could stand it, filling the bathroom with fog and making Mark feel renewed with Matt held against him. He couldn’t remember a time he’d ever felt so comforted in his life.

“I missed you so much,” Matt told him, pressing a kiss to his jaw.

“I missed you too,” Mark replied. “I had to come see you while I had the chance.”

Matt softly kissed his lips. “I’m so fucking happy you’re here.” He stepped back to turn the shower off. “Let’s go to bed before we get stuck here forever.”

Mark nodded. he reached out to get Matt a towel before getting his own.

The two dried off and didn’t even get the chance to get dressed before one kiss in Matt’s bedroom became two, became three, became a passionate makeout session. It wasn't like either of them really planned it to turn out that way, but before they knew it, towels were off and fifteen minutes later, they both had to clean up again.

They lay in Matt's bed, basking in the afterglow, stealing kisses every time they made eye contact.

“It’s so good to see you," Matt told him, brushing his fingers through Mark's hair.

“You too," Mark replied, delighting in the light touches. "Can't believe I can survive so long without having you around."

Matt let out a small laugh. “I just always keep in mind that there will always be a next time."

'Next Time,' was truly what kept Mark going. Even his hard days were at least another day closer to the next time he saw Matt. He nodded, inching closer to Matt to share his body heat. The apartment was cold, even with the heat on. “We don’t have to worry about next time right now."

Matt smiled at him and pulled him closer, pulling the comforter up to cover them fully. Mark cuddled up to him and fell asleep with his hand over Matt’s heart.

***  
  
"You cold, California boy?"

"Maybe," Mark mumbled, shivering in his light jacket. They had ventured out of Matt’s apartment to have lunch and explore, and the chill had already begun to hit him after walking only a block. “I’ve been in the South for the past two months and it’s already Spring there. Isn’t it supposed to be getting hotter here?”

He thought the day and night before was just a little cold, but this day was much cooler. Mark didn’t even bring the right clothes for it, wrongly assuming that he could leave his heavier coats back with his own band’s crap instead of hauling it all up with him.

“It is,” Matt laughed, “Should’ve been here last week, everyone keeps telling me we made perfect time after the snow storm.” He took off his own jacket and draped it over Mark’s shoulders.

“You’re not gonna be cold?” Mark asked, already wrapping it tighter around himself.

He wrapped an arm around Mark. "I’ll be okay. I was getting a little warm anyway since it's sunny over here."

“What? You’re warm? I'm freezing my ass off."

"Aww, that's adorable. Said like a true California boy,” Matt teased.

"I don't know how you live like this.” Mark braced himself as a strong wind blew against them.

Matt gave a short giggle. "Pure Midwestern Determination."

Mark huddled into the two jackets to keep as warm as possible.

They went around town to Matt's favorite bookstores, some local landmarks, and quiet places to enjoy nature and each other’s company. Mark was seeking out hot tea and coffee to drink all day to keep his body temperature up, but he wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else in the world.

***

The night before Mark was set to leave, the two spent most of their time in Matt’s bed, watching movies on the TV and VCR that they’d dragged into the bedroom from the living room.

“I don’t wanna go back,” Mark sighed onto Matt’s chest. He laid on his side, pressed against Matt and leaning his head on him.

“I don’t want you to,” Matt answered before kissing the top of Mark’s head. He inhaled, seeming like he was going to continue, but took a few seconds before he did. “Um. What if… I went back with you?” Matt suggested, tilting his head a little to look at him.

Mark knew the value of settling at home for a while. It was nice to be done with a long tour, and Matt had to be exhausted. “You just got off tour sitting in a cramped van with a bunch of smelly dudes, I doubt you’d wanna jump right back into that."

Matt squinted at him. Mark wondered if maybe that came off like he didn’t want him to come with him, and felt the need to amend that statement.

“If you’re down for that though,” he shrugged and smiled, shifting slightly to be eye-level with Matt, “I’d… really love to have you around.” He knew it probably sounded lame, and hoped Matt didn’t think it was.

“Okay, I’m there.” Matt turned to fully face him and raised an eyebrow, like he was expecting Mark to protest again.

“You’ll really fly back with me?” Mark chuckled breathlessly, not quite believing that he himself was worth going straight back on another tour.

Matt smiled leaned in to catch Mark’s lips with his own. “I’d spend the rest of my life in a shitty van as long as it’s with you,” he whispered, still so close that Mark could feel how the air moved with the words as he spoke.

“That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard, enduring more sweaty van days just to be with me?” Mark couldn’t help but joke.

Matt laughed and pulled him tight against him before shutting him up with another enthusiastic kiss.


End file.
